Man&#39;s undergarment



May 26, 1953 F. CHATFIELD MEN'S UNDERGARMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Sept. 13, 1948 INVENTOR. Fmv/a IN CHA TFIELD 60 BY? AT'IWJENEYTS M y 25, 5 F. CHATFIELD 2,639,708

MENS UNDERGARMENT Filed Sept. 13, 1948 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 4 EI'VVENTOR. FBAN/ru/v HATFIELD May 26, 1953 F. CHATFIELD MEN'S UNDERGARMENT 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Fil ed Sept. 13, 1948 INVENTOR F64 NhL //v Cm TF/EL o I ATTORNEYS Patented May 26, 1953 MANS UNDERGARMENT.

Franklin Chatfield, Minneapolis, Minn, assignor to Munsingwear, Inc., Minneapolis, Minn, a corporation of Delaware.

Application September 13, 1948, Serial No. 49,009

6 Claims.

This invention relates to new and useful immovements in mens undergarments and more particularly to garments commonly known as union suits.

In recent years it has become quite common to construct mens nether garments whereby they snugly fit the lower portion of the wearers torso to thereby provide a suitable support for certain parts of the wearers body such as the scrotum. Such garments, to effectively serve their purpose, are usually made snug fitting, and may have an elastic waistband for holding the garment in proper place upon the wearers body, as such a garment must fit snugly up into the crotch if the usual suspensory embodied therein is to serve its purpose. 'Heretofore, when an individual found it desirable or necessary to wear a suspensory, it was necessary for him to wear an independent suspensory, as conventional union suits do not provide a support for the scrotum. There are now available, mens nether garments having a suspensory embodied therein, but such garments cover only the lower portion of the wearers body, and usually require that a shirt be worn in conjunction therewith to provide a complete covering for the wearers torso.

There are a great many individuals who prefer to wear union suits in lieu of the usual well known two-piece suits, and who also prefer to use some sort of suspensory. Heretofore, when such a device has been desired or required, it has been necessary for the individual to wear a conventional suspensory which is constructed independently of the wearers undergarments. This has been made necessary because the conventional construction of a one-piece suit or union suit must be made long enough in the body for a given size to prevent the garment from pulling up in the crotch and thereby adding discomfort to the wearer. To overcome this difficulty the bodies of such garments are usually worn sufficiently long to provide the necessary looseness in the crotch and thereby prevent the garment from pulling up in the crotch or its shoulder straps from pulling on the shoulders of the wearer.

An object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide a one-piece undergarment or union suit for mens wear,, the lower portion of which is designed to fit snugly into the crotch of the wearer to provide a support for the scrotum, whereby a union suit may be constructed to embody the desirable features now available in mens nether garments, as disclosed in patents, Nos. 2,138,481, and 2,310,839, granted respective- 13 on November 29, 1938 and February 9,1943. 5 7

A further object of the invention is to provide a one-piece undergarment or union suit adapted to cover the entire torsoof the wearer, and thenether portion of the garment havinga suspen 1 5 sory embodied therein, and the shoulder portion of the garment having elastic means' embodied therein for supporting the garment in proper position upon the wearers body, and to prevent saggingof the garment in the crotch, regardless 10 of body movements.

A further object is to provide a garment comprising leg and sleeve portions and having'fa suspensory embodied in thelowerporti'on-'thereof and suitable elastic inserts or straps'being provided in the, shoulders of the garment to provide the necessary up-and-down elasticity and stretch in the body of the garment to retainthe crotch portion or suspensory thereof in proper position v in the crotchto provide the desired support.

Other objects ofthe invention-reside in the provision of a garment fof 'the class described, wherein the crotch portion' of the garment is always retained incorrect position upon the wearersbody, regardless of body'movements; in the provision of such. a garment which may be *-pr0Vided witheither"ahorizontal or a vertical fly opening, and whereby'theseat portion of the garment may be provided with any suitable form of closure forthe convenience of the wearer; and in theprovision of ag'arment having leg and isleeve portions and having elastic inserts em bodiedin the shouldersflof the garment for re-* taining the crotch of the garment in proper position upon the wearers bodyat all times, and also whereby the wearer may freely move his arms in any desired direction without causing the garment to'bind and thereby cause discomfort when engaged in activities which may cause frequent arm and body movements. 40 These and other objects of the invention and the means' for their attainment will bemore apparent from the' following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

In the accompanying drawings there has been disclosed a structure design'ed to carry out the 1 various objects of thinvention, but it is to be understood that the invention is not confined to the exact features showmas various changes may be made within the scope of the claims which follow. v

- In the drawings? v Figure '1 is a'view showing the upper portion of a sleeve type garment having an elastic insert embodied therein, the ends of which 'are prefer ably pointed and exiena partiany into the portion ofthe sleeves;

Figure 2 is-a top View of Figure 1, illustrating how the sleeve-attaching seams are carried unbrokenly around the ends of the inserts;

Figure 3 is a rear view of Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a view showing a full length garment upon a wearers body and a suspensory being embodied'in" the'crotch of the garment and suitable elastic shoulderstraps beingprovided in the upper portion of the garment for retaining the suspensory in proper position upon the wearer; v

Figure 5 is a top view of the garment showing the elastic straps embodied in the top of the shoulders, and also showing inserts. or gores which normally conceal the elastic straps;

Figure 6 is a front view of the garment shown in Figure 4;

Figure 7 is a top view of a garment somewhat similar to the ones shown in Figures 4 to 6, inclusive, but wherein the elastic. shoulder straps are relatively longer,. and a relatively larger single fabric insert is employed which conceals the elastic shoulder straps;

Figure 8 is a front View of the. garment shown,

in Figure '7;

Figure 9 is a rear view of the garment shown in Figures '7 and 8; and

Figure 10 is a fragmentary view showing the seams at the sides of the suspensory fitting into the groins of the wearer.

Heretofore it was not considered practical to embody'in a union suit a. suspensory, or in other words, .to makethe lower portion of the garment snug fitting to therebyprovide a support for certain parts of the wearers body. Thelength and size of such garments was therefore usually made to fit the wearers body rather loosely, whereby it was impossibleto embody inthe garment a suspensory such as herein disclosed, which could effectively serve its purpose. Consequently, no attempts were. made to. embody. a suspensory in the usual form of. one-piece. union suit.

I have discovered that a suspensory may be effectively embodied. in. a union suit by providing adequate elastic means in the upper or shoulder portion of the garmentand so proportioning the length of the garment body: withrespect to the wearers body that when the garment is fitted onto the wearers body, theelastic means. in the upper portion of the garment will. retain the crotch portion and suspensory of. the garment in proper position upon the wearers figure, without causing any portion ofthe garment. to exert any strains or. pulling in the garment, which might be discomforting to the wearer.

An important feature of the presentinvention therefore resides in the provision of a garment of this general type wherein the lower or nether portion of the garment body may be made to snugly fit the wearers body, and particularly to fit well up into thecrotch, whereby it may effectively embody a suspensory similar to those now frequently employed in garments known in the trade as shorts or briefs, or in garments having leg portions, as disclosed-in my above mentioned patents.

The garment herein disclosed is shown com prising the usual body 4'! having front and rear walls 50 and 60, respectively, the upper edges of which are spaced apart on the shoulders, as best illustrated inFigures '1 and 2. -The front wall 50 of the garment may be'opened down the front, as indicated at, to. facilitate. getting into or outof the garment, and.the garment. may be provided with sleeves 49 and1egs5l as. Shown.

'' garment;

4 in Figure 4. It is to be understood, however, that the lengths of the sleeves and legs may be varied to suit different individuals.

An important feature of the present invention resides in the construction of the shoulder portion of the garment, whereby greater elasticity is imparted thereto to assure a snug fitof the crotch portion of the garment in the groins. To thus provide greater elasticity in the shoulder portions of the garment, elastic inserts 52 are embodied in the shoulders which extend from the neck band 53 outwardly with their outer ends preferably, extending beyond the usual seams 54 which secure the sleeves 49 to the body of the The inserts 52 are stretchable in a fore-and-aft direction, as indicated by the arrows in Figure 2, and have their front and rear edges secured respectively to the upper edges of the front and rear walls 50 and 60 of the garment body. by,seams 1B and 80. The-inserts thus render the. shoulder. portions of the garment highly elastic and stretchable in a fore-and-aft direction, whereby a properly fitted garment. will al ways retain its properposition, in the crotchof the wearer, regardless of body movements, as, will readily be understood by referencev tdFigures 4 and 10.

In a garment having afull lengthbody, as

shown inFigure 4, the lower or buttocks portion.

of the. garment is held .inposition on the wearers body by the shoulder. portion of the garment,

and when such a garment is provided. with a suspensory 55, as shown in Figures 4 and, 10, means must be providedfor holding the crotch portion of thegarment in proper position on.

the wearers body in order that the suspensory may serve itsintended purpose. In other words, the garment must be so proportioned that when in position upon the wearers body, the crotch seams 4a. and 4b, are. held. firmly in position in the wearers groinssothat the suspensory is always retained in its proper. position in the wearers crotch.

The neck band 53v defining the neckv opening 51 may be madev elastic, or not, as desired, but the inserts 52 musthave sufiicient elasticity in thedirection. indicated by thearrows 58 to provide ample freedomof movement of the wearers body in the garment,,and to, eliminate any possible danger of the garment binding upon the wearers body. The inserts 52 may be made of two-way stretch fabric if desired.

In Figures-4,5 and 6, theinvention is shown embodied in a full length, sleeve type union suitv provided with a high neck. When embodying a. suspensory in suchv a garment, it is necessary that the shoulder portions of the garment be provided with elastic means whereby the garment body may be so retained upon the wearers.

body that the crotch portion of the garment, including the suspensory, is so retained upon the wearersbody that the. crotch seams 4a. and 4b are held well up in the groins of the wearer, as hereinbefore stated, andas indicatedin Figure 4.

To provide the necessary elasticity. in the shoulder portions of such a garment, elastic straps 62 are embodied in the shoulders of the garment, as best illustrated in Figure 5. These shoulder straps are stretchable in a fore-and-aft direction, as indicatedby the arrow '63, thereby to provide ample elasticity across the shoulders from front to back, to allow forslight variation tained in its.- proper position upon. the wearers body, as hereinbefore stated. The elastic straps or tapes 62 may be concealed by inserts 59 embodied in the shoulders of .the garment, and which preferably have their ends extending beyond the seams 64 which securethe sleeves 49 to the garment body, in a manner similar to the form illustrated in Figures 1 and 2.

The inserts 59 provided in the shoulders of the garment may bemade of knitted fabric of the same character as that from which the gar-v ment body is made, but having the wales thereof running in the direction indicated by the arrows 6 I, whereby the inserts 59 may freely stretch in a for'e-and-aft direction as indicated by the arrow I53.

In Figures '7, 8 and 9, there is shown a garment having a single yoke 65, embodied in its shoulders which is relatively larger than the inserts 52 and 59 shown in Figures 2 and 5. The rear portion of the yoke 65 extends downwardly below the neck band 66, across the full width of the shoulders, as clearly illustrated in Figures 7 and 9. The yoke 65 is preferably made of knitted fabric, similar to that from which the garment body is made, having the wales of the fabric running lengthwise of the yoke, across the shoulders, as indicated by the arrow 61 in Figures '7 and 9. The ends of the yoke 65 are preferably shaped as shown and extend beyond the seams 68 which secure the sleeves of the garment body.

Suitable elastic straps or tapes 69 have their ends secured or anchored to the front and rear seams H and 12, respectively, of the shoulder yoke '65, and are readily stretchable in a foreand-aft direction, as indicated by the arrow 13, thereby to provide adequate elasticity or stretchability in the length of the garment body to retain the suspensory or crotch portion of the garment in proper position on the wearers body. The garment shown in Figures 7 to 9, like the one shown in Figure 4, is preferably open down the front, as indicated at 14, to facilitate slipping the garment on or off the wearers body.

The invention herein disclosed may be embodied in any form of union suit wherein it is desired to provide a suspensory or close fitting crotch portion, regardless of whether the lower portion of the union suit is similar to the form of garment commonly known to the trade as shorts or briefs, or whether the garment is provided with short leg portions, or with full length legs.

The outstanding feature of the present invention, as hereinbefore stated, resides in the relationship between the shoulder, crotch, and body portions of the garment, and in the provision of elastic means in the shoulders of the garment whereby when the garment is fitted onto a wearers body, the suspensory and crotch portions of the garment will be properly supported on the wearers body without causing the garment to bind or pull. A further feature resides in the unique construction of the shoulder inserts whereby they extend beyond the seams securing the sleeves to the garment body, whereby the elasticity of the end portions of the inserts is not restricted by the sleeve securing seams.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that I have accomplished at least the principal objects of my invention, and it will also be aprent to those skilled in the art that the embodiments herein described may be variously changed and modified without departing from the spirit of the invention, and that the inven tion is. capable of uses'andv has advantages not herein specifically described; hence it will be appreciated that the herein disclosed embodi-v ments are illustrative only, and that my invention is not limited thereto.

I claim as my invention:

.11. A union suitcomprising a full length body having its upper portion provided with sleeves and a neck opening, and a lower portion adapted to snugly fit the lower portion of a wearers torso, an elastic element encircling the neck opening, elastic insertsembodied in the shoulders of the garment, said inserts extending outwardly from the neck opening of the garment and having V-shaped terminals extending slightly into the upper portions of the sleeves and seams securing the opposed edges of said inserts to the body of the garment and having V-shaped portions to secure the V-shaped terminals of the shoulder inserts to the sleeves, whereby the garment is retained in position upon the wearers body without causing binding or pulling in the crotch and shoulder portions of the garment body when the wearer bends or stoops.

2. A union suit comprising a full length body, composed of front and rear panels having their upper edges spaced apart along the tops of the shoulders, elastic inserts stitched to the spaced edges of said front and back panels and cooperating therewith to provide a neck opening, sleeves secured to the upper portion of the garment by seams extending through the arm pits and upwardly at the front and rear of the garment to the opposed front and rear edges of said inserts, the outer ends of said inserts being V-shaped in formation and extending into the upper portions of the sleeves and secured thereto by the sleeve securing seams, and whereby said seams will follow V-shaped paths at the tops of the shoulders of the garment, a suspensory embodied in the lower portion of the garment and comprising spaced seams adapted to fit into the groins of the wearer, said inserts permitting stretching and yielding of the shoulder portions of the garment to accommodate body movements, and constantly retaining the suspensory in the correct position upon the wearers body with its spaced side seams fitting into the groins of the wearer.

3. A union suit in accordance with claim 2, wherein resilient tapes are embodied in the shoulders of the garment intermediately of said inserts, said tapes having their front and rear ends secured to the front and rear walls of the garment by the seams securing the inserts therein, and being readily stretchable in a fore and aft direction, and cooperating with said inserts to permit the shoulder portion of the garment to stretch in all directions.

4. A union suit comprising a body having a neck opening, sleeve portions, seams securing said sleeve portions to the body of the garment, an elastic yoke embodied in the shoulders of the garment and extending outwardly from the neck opening to the seams securing the sleeves to the body of the garment, the opposed ends of said yoke being V-shaped and being secured to the sleeve portions by said seams, said yoke being readily stretchable from shoulder to shoulder, elastic tapes having their ends secured to the spaced edges of the front and rear wall portions of the garment and overlying the shoulders and normally maintaining the fabric of the yoke in a contracted condition in a fore-and-aft direction, and a suspensory embodied in the lower portion of the body of the garment comprising spaced 7 side seams; said elastic. tapes acting-to" maintain the spaced seams of the suspensor'yin" place in" the grains of the wearer, whereby thesuspensory may provide the" necessary support for a portion of the wearers anatomy.

5. A union suit in accordance with claim 4, wherein the elastic yoke in the'shoulder portion of the garment extends rearwardly to a point below the neck opening, thereby toincrease the elasticity of the upperportion of the garment;

6. A- union suit comprising a full length body having shoulder portions, sleeves, and; a neck opening,- seams securing the sleeves to the'shou-lder portion of the garment, the lower portion ofthe garment body being formedv with asus-' pensoryadapted to snugly fit the crotch portion of the wearers torso, elastic inserts embodiedinthe shoulder portions of the garment, said inserts extending outwardly from the neck opening of the garment and beyond the seams securing the sleeves to the garment body, said elastic inserts serving. to retain the suspensory' in the correct position upon the wearers body without causing uncomfortable binding or pulling in the crotch portion of the garment or in the shoulder seams thereof, when the wearer bends or-stoops.

FRANKLIN CHATFIELD.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Nuinber Name Date 1,035,819 Clarke Aug. 13, 1912 1,103,255 Bilbrough July 14', 1914 1,323,748 Gitenstein Dec. 2', 1919 1,364,663 Walker Jan. 4, 1921 1,425,726 Walker Aug. 15, 1922 1,541,858 Scott June 16', 1925 1,658,448 Levinson' Feb. 7, 1928 1', 718',46 l He'yn June 25, 1929' 2,116,822 Berger May 10, 1938' 2,190,425 Hurd Feb. 13, 1940 

